All Annotations of [Preview]

saved by3 people, first byedtechtalk on 2008-02-12, last byJennifer Maddrell on 2008-04-27

• Recently, we English teachers had to get substitutes for our classes and attend an all-day technology session.
• Apparently administrators really do believe that computers are the key to building relationships. The human voice and face-to-face contact have been replaced by e-mail and Blackboard, a computer program that allows teachers and students to communicate via the Internet. I've always thought that in some ways schools should be like families, but as one experienced teacher puts it, "We're becoming like a correspondence school where all communication is faceless."
• Of course, the big question isn't whether teachers like spending their time learning one new gizmo after another, but whether a parade of new technologies will help kids learn.
• I see the same thing in my classes, especially when it comes to writing essays. Many students send their papers in over the Internet, and while the margins are correct and the fonts attractive, the writing is worse than ever. It's as if the rule is: Write one draft, run spell check, hit "send" and pray.
• But now, a number are abandoning the programs, saying there's no evidence that the laptops are helping students academically -- and that they may even be a distraction.

• Principal Kim Hill told me. "Technology is just a tool, not an end in itself. It will never replace good teaching."
  

  
  

• re you listening, Alexandria?